Has anyone actually recovered completely from severe adrenal fatigue?

[liqzierda]

Please, I hope there is at least one person who can provide a story of long term recovery from AF.

I am feeling really, really pessimistic because I just keep feeling worse and worse. My energy level is beyond being in the toilet, it's practically down the drain. I make a point to try to get 9 hours of sleep a night and I still feel like I could easily take two or even three naps a day. I can barely keep my eyes open.

[sbgrace]

I would suspect you've got other things going on that directly contributed to the Adrenal Fatigue. If you correct those you will feel better and have a better chance of fixing the Adrenal Fatigue as well.

In my case I had very low vitamin D levels (check this), suboptimal thyroid (check T3 and T4 as well as TSH), low coq10 (caused other symptoms too), and sleep apnea/Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome. You could have celiac contributing.

You need a doctor to check out all the possibilities.
I'd start with:
25(OH)D level (vitamin D)
Full thyroid panel
Sleep Study, preferably with a lab that can detect Upper Airway Resitance as that is more common in pre-menopausal women. http://www.centerforsoundsleep.com/U...e-Syndrome.php
Celiac test
Other vitamin levels (b12, b6 for example). You might check calcium too though parathyroid is rare when it does occur it usually takes a long time (7 years I think) for correct diagnosis. It would be a calcium of 10 or higher.

My saliva test did show adrenal fatigue. But clearly all this other stuff was the instigator and prevented me from getting better. If you have other symptoms as well (do you?) outside of fatigue let me know. Some common (in metabolic terms) metabolic conditions can have adult onset and can cause that extreme and increasing fatigue. That was part of my picture as well.

[liqzierda]

Originally Posted by sbgrace

If you have other symptoms as well (do you?) outside of fatigue let me know. Some common (in metabolic terms) metabolic conditions can have adult onset and can cause that extreme and increasing fatigue. That was part of my picture as well.

I thought my problem was thyroid in nature. I've been under a huge amount of stress and sleep deprivation for the last seven years. I don't really have a lot of other issues, except very severe environmental allergies and chronic sinusitis.

The fatigue and brain fog are the worst. I am cold intolerant, have very dry skin, no libido, hair loss and all the rest that is on the adrenal/thyroid hit parade. My PCP tested my TSH a year ago and it was "normal" so I started taking throid glandulars but I'm worse now than I was then in terms of the degree of fatigue.

I also have thrush. I've had it on and off for almost five years now. If I stick to a strict anti-candida diet, I can somewhat beat it back into submission. I've been doing the diet for a month now and I still feel really, really bad.

[liqzierda]

Oh, the other reason I think it's adrenal-related is that the only time I feel really good is starting a course of prednisone.

[sbgrace]

Allergies could be contributing and that would be part of the prednisone improvement picture.
I'd be aggressive in treating those.

Is your thyroid better (have you had a T3/T4 test)? That sounds like the issue given those symptoms. If this one won't take it seriously/test find another doctor.

You need a vitamin D level or start supplementing (9,000 IU of D3 per day is safe indefinitely) as if. Most people are low. I'd say almost all adrenal fatigue people. It's unlikely your D is ok.

[liqzierda]

I took adrenal glandulars this spring and my allergies were actually better this year than they've been in 27+ years. I'm just really, really tired and my brain fog is horrible. I don't know what else I can do for the allergies besides taking Singulair, antihistamines, and steroidal nasal spray.

[deditus]

Originally Posted by liqzierda

I took adrenal glandulars this spring and my allergies were actually better this year than they've been in 27+ years. I'm just really, really tired and my brain fog is horrible. I don't know what else I can do for the allergies besides taking Singulair, antihistamines, and steroidal nasal spray.

Are you taking vit c to reduce your histamine load? Magnesium to help prevent release of histamine? Are you doing nettles infusion? B5? Biotin and hcl/zinc for candida? I really had to hit my body with a lot of supps before my brain could get a handle on what else I could do, and get enough energy to do it.

[yaM yaM]

Originally Posted by sbgrace

You need a vitamin D level or start supplementing (9,000 IU of D3 per day is safe indefinitely)

9,000 IU daily indefinitely is safe? Do you have any links or more info on this? I want to learn more.

[liqzierda]

Originally Posted by deditus

Are you taking vit c to reduce your histamine load? Magnesium to help prevent release of histamine? Are you doing nettles infusion? B5? Biotin and hcl/zinc for candida? I really had to hit my body with a lot of supps before my brain could get a handle on what else I could do, and get enough energy to do it.

I have the Carlson's Vitamin D drops and I've taken a lot of that. I guess I need to get my Vitamin D checked and see how it is.

I am doing Vitamin C, taking Magnesium at night (it has really helped q/sleep issues), lots of all B vitamins. Nothing anti-candidal -- I took a boatload of supplements daily (Olive leaf extract, oregano oil, GSE, probiotics including Saccharomyces Boulardii), did gentian violet) for years and nothing worked. Only the diet really helped. My multivitamin has zinc, though. The candida is not that bad, probably because my son is FINALLY (hallelujah!) night-weaned.

I didn't know about the nettle infusion -- what exactly is that? I've got stinging nettle capsules and a ton of other anti-allergy supplements -- Quercetin and bromelain, tumeric w/cucurmin, and it seems like more supplements than they have in a drugstore. I'm also taking Spirulina and CoEQ10. I got a lot of adaptogens, too, but I decided to lay off today and see if I felt better.

I'm taking 5-HTP, GABA and magnesium citrate at night, along with a calcium/Vitamin D/magnesium supplement. Those things really seem to be helping with sleep, in that I'm not waking up as much and staying awake between 2 -4, having anxiety attacks.

[sbgrace]

OP, what I was trying to say was that you can have adrenal fatigue, allergies, and thyroid and still have more too. If you're treating what you've got and getting worse based on my experience I would see if there is something else contributing. Allergies and the fatigue would make me want to see if those things are causing apnea or Upper Airway Restriction for example. And I'm glad you're thinking of checking Vitamin D levels. You may well need more than you're getting.

Why the coq10? That was a big piece of the puzzle for me but I needed a very good form (epic4health made by tischon corp) to correct a low level. Coq10 issues indicate metabolics--that's why I asked.

Originally Posted by May May

9,000 IU daily indefinitely is safe? Do you have any links or more info on this? I want to learn more.

Research published since 1997 suggests that the UL for adults is likely overly conservative and that vitamin D toxicity is very unlikely in healthy people at intake levels lower than 10,000 IU/day (39, 97, 98).

http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocente...ex.html#safety (they link research studies)

"Throughout my preparation of this review, I was amazed at the lack of evidence supporting statements about the toxicity of moderate doses of vitamin D." He added: "If there is published evidence of toxicity in adults from an intake of 250 ug (10,000 IU) per day, and that is verified by the 25(OH)D concentration, I have yet to find it."

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/vitaminDToxicity.shtml

The vitamin D council is wonderful for information about all things vitamin D.
Most important to note is that we're talking vitamin D3 in this case. You have to be more careful with D2 (and avoid it for other reasons too--vitamin D council has information on that).

[mom61508]

I didn't know about the nettle infusion -- what exactly is that?

You can buy a big bag of loose leaf nettles and you soak the leafs overnight(some only do it for like 4 hours) in water. You would boil the water then pour the water over the nettles. I have been doing 1 tablespoon per cup. It will last about 3 days in the refrigerator. It's full of minerals. There are a few threads on it.

[liqzierda]

Originally Posted by sbgrace

OP, what I was trying to say was that you can have adrenal fatigue, allergies, and thyroid and still have more too. If you're treating what you've got and getting worse based on my experience I would see if there is something else contributing. Allergies and the fatigue would make me want to see if those things are causing apnea or Upper Airway Restriction for example. And I'm glad you're thinking of checking Vitamin D levels. You may well need more than you're getting.

Why the coq10? That was a big piece of the puzzle for me but I needed a very good form (epic4health made by tischon corp) to correct a low level. Coq10 issues indicate metabolics--that's why I asked.

I've got an upper airway issue with a very deviated septum. I need to get that fixed and have sinus surgery and am hoping I can do that this summer. My ex had severe sleep apnea and I'm extremely cognizant of the issues around it and I do not think it's an issue for me. But neither that nor the possibility of sleep apnea would explain why when I start on prednisone, I feel utterly fantastic. I get more done in one day than in three or four months previously. I think the adrenal fatigue is the result of seven years of severe sleep deprivation and I'm just tanked out now, as in not being able to get blood out of a stone. I have a very sick child who didn't eat or sleep most for the last six years and she's not the greatest eater or sleeper now. At least we finally have a diagnosis for her. My younger son also has serious issues that put me through hell for the last three years. I also suspect that I'm feeling really crappy right now because last month I consumed a lot of caffeine to force myself to be able to get stuff done I had to do.

I haven't actually noticed the CoEQ10 making a difference but maybe a)it's a crappy brand or b)I'm not taking enough or c)I'm just so far gone at this point, it couldn't help that much.

[neveryoumindthere]

Chinese medicine helped me recover. Acupuncture and herbals (mostly herbals)

I had celiac, hair loss, extreme fatigue, lethargy, brain fog, dry skin, cold intolerance, etc etc

I was working on it for 3 years otherwise...but within a month (less, as far as I remember) I was better and my hair even started growing in.

hth!

[Violet2]

If prednisone makes you feel better then you should pursue testing of the adrenals or ask about adrenal insufficiency (either primary or secondary). You may have moved past fatigue into a more severe pathology--something that should be investigated.

V

[mbravebird]

Are you able to sleep through the night?

I had symptomatic recovery from adrenal fatigue, but it came back a little when I was pregnant (cortisol production goes way up in pregnancy), and big time after months of sleep deprivation with the new babe. I found that no matter what wonderful things I put in my mouth, if I wasn't getting sleep I just couldn't recover.

That said, nettle infusion has always been a huge help to me, whether I am able to sleep through the night or not. I've taken supplemental cal/mag and other minerals, but nettle infusion has done what supps cannot. It's another testament to the strength of the whole-food paradigm -- there's a mojo in real food that we just can't reproduce in supplements. I think that's particularly true of herbals. I would need about two cups a day of the infusion to see a difference. I use a cup of herb to a quart of water (get the canning jars from the grocery store), covered and steeped in boiling water overnight.

The three magic bullets for me when healing my adrenals have been: nettle infusion, chunks of frozen raw liver swallowed like pills, and high amounts (3+ TBS) of coconut oil (that helps with candida, too).

Supplement-wise, the real helper for me has been Dr. Ron's Organ Delight. Saved my butt during pregnancy. Has a lot of liver in it, but also has adrenal with cortex and other glandulars.

I also think that you might want to look at bodywork like acupuncture to help out with this process. I too have seen wonders occur within that paradigm.

What time do you go to bed? Do you have lights on, or lights shining through the window, or even small led lights around, or clock lights? All of those things will prevent adrenal healing.

[liqzierda]

I try to be in bed by 9 and fall asleep pretty fast, definitely not past 10. I have a problem sleeping through the night. I'm co-sleeping with my son and I was waking up dozens of times a night habitually or waking up at 2 a.m. and staying awake until after 4, but since I started taking magnesium/vitD/calcium, GABA and 5-HTP, I'm able to be drowsy when waking and go back to sleep, which is a huge improvement.

I'll have to try the nettles. It's stinging nettles, right?

[yaM yaM]

Thank you so much for that info, sbgrace. I'm going to check it out.

[subtlycrunchy]

Hey Mama -- Hugs and good health to you! I found these articles on AF to be EXTREMELY helpful -- from Women to WOmen, a holistic health clinic. Here's a good one on where your symptoms fit on the adrenal spectrum.

[liqzierda]

Thanks!

I started the nettle infusion today and it seemed to help. I'm at least a little less tired, though I was really exhausted at 5:20, I didn't need a nap. I got a lot more done today. I only noticed one weird side effect -- I had something almost like a hot flash after drinking a cup full.

I also tried take Betaine HCl before eating since every meal would just knock me out. It seems like it's helped, too. I'm eating low carb, small meals, so it didn't make sense that I needed to go to bed after eating just two eggs and nothing else. It's not an insulin issue.

My celtic sea salt got here today, so I'll be trying more of that tomorrow.

[mbravebird]

Nettle infusion will also make you pee more, so be prepared for that. When I drank two full cups of nettle infusion a day, I slept like a baby at night, no matter how many times I was woken. Hoping you get equally supported.

Are you open to the liver?